Dive Brief:
- The Green Giant plant in Belvidere, IL, will cut 160 jobs following General Mills' announced sale of its Green Giant and Le Sueur vegetable businesses to B&G Foods Inc. for about $765 million, reports the Rockford Register Star and the Associated Press.
- The job cuts stem from B&G moving Green Giant's frozen vegetable line to another plant, though the original plant and the remaining 515 employees working there will stay in Belvidere.
- "City and county officials hope General Mills eventually will move another food line to the Belvidere plant," the Rockford Register Star and Associated Press reported.
Dive Insight:
General Mills recently announced multiple factory closings, with the eventual shutdown of its plants in West Chicago and Joplin, MO, as part of its cost-cutting program Project Century which the company launched in 2014.
Frozen foods have been struggling, with sales having grown less than 1% on average for the past four years. In that time, unit sales fell 2%. General Mills is also battling falling sales of cereal and other processed foods, which could have contributed to its decision to sell off Green Giant and Le Sueur to B&G.